Quick Answers
Do you miss the daily forecast email? You have several options that make checking your daily weather easy! Please try one or more of these:
• Save your forecast page on the mobile website to your phone’s home screen. [instructions for Android and iPhone]
• Sign in (or create an account) on the website or mobile device and save your favourite locations for quick access
• Download the app for your phone and/or tablet [instructions for Android and iPhone]
Today's Top Web Questions+-
Where can I get highway and roads information?
Visit our interactive maps for road and weather conditions! We have:
Where can I get Historical Weather information?
To search for historical weather information on the Website, go to Menu and select Forecasts and Reports. Under Long term, select Historical Weather. You can also find this information on the Monthly calendar (where available).
Why do those red Alert banners get posted?
Alert banners are posted on theweathernetwork.com by government agencies, particularly when weather or other events are expected or occurring that could pose a threat to public safety, such as poor visibility, dangerous driving conditions and more. In some cases the alert is considered high priority, and appears in full on the page immediately. This is to ensure that website users are aware of the event. Once the alert page is closed, it will not appear automatically unless the alert is updated.
How do I change to °F or °C?
You can change to Fahrenheit or to Celsius on the desktop site either by clicking directly on the temperature next to the weather icon on the forecast page, or by clicking on the °C or °F at the very top of the page, in the grey bar. On the mobile website please find these settings by clicking on the "hamburger menu" icon, and scrolling to the bottom of the menu.
What does the ∼ mean? (Example: ∼5 mm of rain)
The ~ (also known as a tilde) is a mathematical symbol that indicates "approximately".
Our most-asked questions about our website are listed below. For any topics not covered here, please feel free to contact us. We'd love to hear from you!
Where can I find...+-
How do I find my city forecast?
There are several ways to locate your favourite city. You can use the search box and type in the city name, or you can also locate your cities on the home page map by panning and zooming the map and clicking on the weather icons to take you there. You can also save locations - these will display in the blue navigation bar at the top of every page.
Where can I find the Barometric Pressure reading?
The Barometric Pressure information can be found on your 7 Days forecast page and 36 Hours forecast page. On your 7 Days forecast page below the current observations, click on the small arrow to the right of the“Sunset” icon. The barometric pressure icon is here. On the 36 Hours forecast page in the table of forecast data, Pressure is found in the last line at the bottom.
How do I change to Fahrenheit or Celsius?
You can easily switch to Fahrenheit or Celsius by clicking on the large temperature display (the current observation for the location) at the upper left of the forecast page. You can also find this setting at the very top of every page, in the grey bar.
Warnings & Alerts+-
What is the difference between a "Watch" and a "Warning"?
A watch is when there is potential for severe weather to develop. No action is required but you should be aware. A warning is issued when severe weather is happening in your area. It’s time to act to protect your life and property.
Watches, warnings and other alerts are issued by Environment Canada and other government agencies. We do not alter these messages.
Watches, warnings and other alerts are issued by Environment Canada and other government agencies. We do not alter these messages.
Why do those red Alert banners get posted?
Alert banners are posted on theweathernetwork.com by government agencies, particularly when weather or other events are expected or occurring that could pose a threat to public safety, such as poor visibility, dangerous driving conditions and more. In some cases the alert is considered high priority, and appears in full on the page immediately. This is to ensure that website users are aware of the event. Once the alert page is closed, it will not appear automatically unless the alert is updated.
Severe Weather Outlook+-
What is the purpose of the Severe Weather Outlook?
The Severe Weather Outlook is a tool to give you advance notice to the potential development of significant and impactful weather over the next three days.
What are the 4 coloured categories and what do they mean?
Not Expected (green): Severe weather is not expected.
Be Aware (yellow): There is a fairly small chance of severe weather impacting you. Check back later to see if the forecast has updated.
Be Prepared (orange): There is a high enough risk for severe weather that you should keep an eye on the skies and use other features such as the hourly forecast and radar maps to find out exactly when the severe weather is expected.
Be Alert (red): The highest category is reserved for our forecasts where we are confident that severe weather is likely to affect you. Take precautions such as having a plan B if you have an activity that may be impacted by weather. Again, use other features such as the hourly forecast and radar maps to find out exactly when the severe weather is expected.
Be Aware (yellow): There is a fairly small chance of severe weather impacting you. Check back later to see if the forecast has updated.
Be Prepared (orange): There is a high enough risk for severe weather that you should keep an eye on the skies and use other features such as the hourly forecast and radar maps to find out exactly when the severe weather is expected.
Be Alert (red): The highest category is reserved for our forecasts where we are confident that severe weather is likely to affect you. Take precautions such as having a plan B if you have an activity that may be impacted by weather. Again, use other features such as the hourly forecast and radar maps to find out exactly when the severe weather is expected.
How is the category/severity level chosen?
Taking into account multiple data points that come from weather prediction models, we measure the potential intensity of severe weather and couple that with the chance of it happening in order to come up with a risk level from 0 to 10.
For what point in time is the risk level valid?
The risk level displayed is the highest level of the three days forecast in the Severe Weather Outlook. For a more detailed breakdown, use the 36 hour or hourly forecast to learn more about when severe weather is most likely to occur.
What severe weather risks are included?
Severe thunderstorm, rainfall, snowfall and freezing rain.
How is the order of the weather risks in the summary table determined?
The summary table is sorted by highest risk. The coloured bar at the beginning of each row indicates what action you should take.
Why can’t I move the map?
The map is a static picture that you cannot interact with. Future page updates may include an interactive map.
Radar Maps+-
It is currently raining (or snowing), but your radar map is not showing anything.
While this is not a usual scenario to experience, there could be a few reasons why you might not be seeing Radar image even though it is raining outside:
• Are you experiencing very light rain or drizzle? If so, then this is likely because light rain or drizzle have such a small rain drop size that it is very hard for the radar equipment to detect it. For that reason, very light precipitation does not show up on the radar imagery very well.
• Are you experiencing heavy rain/snow or a thunderstorm that has started very suddenly? If that is the case, then it is possible that the radar simply didn’t have enough time to detect the event. Thunderstorms (or short heavy bursts of rain) can develop very suddenly – sometimes in a matter of just a few minutes. Radar systems scan the sky for any precipitation every 10 minutes, and then it takes another few minutes to process the data and make it available as a ready-to-use image on our digital platforms. So if a burst of rain happened to form right over your area, you could experience some lag time before that rain can appear on the Radar imagery map.
• In addition to above causes, just like any other technology it is possible that Radars could experience occasional down time especially when there is a scheduled maintenance. During this time no Radar imagery will be available in the vicinity of the Radar site.
• Are you experiencing very light rain or drizzle? If so, then this is likely because light rain or drizzle have such a small rain drop size that it is very hard for the radar equipment to detect it. For that reason, very light precipitation does not show up on the radar imagery very well.
• Are you experiencing heavy rain/snow or a thunderstorm that has started very suddenly? If that is the case, then it is possible that the radar simply didn’t have enough time to detect the event. Thunderstorms (or short heavy bursts of rain) can develop very suddenly – sometimes in a matter of just a few minutes. Radar systems scan the sky for any precipitation every 10 minutes, and then it takes another few minutes to process the data and make it available as a ready-to-use image on our digital platforms. So if a burst of rain happened to form right over your area, you could experience some lag time before that rain can appear on the Radar imagery map.
• In addition to above causes, just like any other technology it is possible that Radars could experience occasional down time especially when there is a scheduled maintenance. During this time no Radar imagery will be available in the vicinity of the Radar site.
I have been checking your Radar on and off throughout the day and it had no warning of the storm that is currently rolling through my area.
Thunderstorms (or short heavy bursts of rain) can develop very suddenly – sometimes in a matter of just a few minutes. Our Future Radar feature is great for tracking precipitation when it already started; however, one of its limitations is that it cannot predict if a new storm is expected to develop. For that matter, it is advised that you check the Radar as often as possible on the days when storms are expected in your area to see if any new storms have formed recently.
Your forecast is calling for rain (or snow) later on in the day, however your radar map is not showing anything coming to my area.
Our radar maps are great at tracking the already occurring precipitation for six hours into the future. One of their limitations however is that they cannot predict if a new storm is expected to form. If you are seeing rain or snow in the forecast, but nothing on the radar map, it is either because the rain is expected to occur later than six hours into the future OR the rain or snow hasn’t developed anywhere just yet.
Your radar map is showing a storm moving over my area later on today, but your forecast is not calling for any precipitation.
One of the limitations of radar is that it cannot predict if a storm is expected to dissipate or change in direction. It is possible that the radar is tracking an already developed storm over your area, while this storm is expected to either dissipate or change in direction.
I am seeing a lot of clouds in my area, but your radar map is not showing anything.
Radar is great at detecting precipitation, like rain or snow. However, radar systems do not detect clouds. If you would like to see a map of clouds in your area, check out our Satellite map layer instead.
I am seeing clouds in my area, but your Satellite map is not showing anything.
Currently we have a lower resolution cloud imagery available. Smaller clouds or clouds that are considered to be low are generally not detected with lower resolution satellite imagery.
What is the difference between Radar and Satellite?
Radar systems are ground-based instruments that detect precipitation that is falling from the sky (rain, snow, etc.), while satellites look down from space and are most commonly used to detect cloud cover.
Why are there discrepancies between the “Past and Forecast” radar map and the “Current and Forecast” radar map?
The way ‘Future Radar’ technology works is by using a simple mathematical algorithm to determine future precipitation movement based on its movement from the past. However, different algorithms can provide slightly different solutions. “Past and Forecast” and “Current and Forecast” Radar maps do happen to use different algorithms; hence you might see some differences especially into the longer lead times.
How often does a radar map gets updated?
Radar maps are updated every 10 minutes.
Why does your radar map keep showing precipitation in my area even though the sky is clear?
Sometimes mountains, tall buildings, clouds of bugs, or even some atmospheric anomalies within clear air will cause the radar equipment to interpret these objects as precipitation – we call this radar clutter. We have different technologies in place to get rid of most of the radar clutter, but sometimes it might show up on the radar map and mistakenly be interpreted as precipitation.
Why does the radar map appear to be missing some or all the radar image?
The use of ad blocking software often blocks weather content as well as ads. If you are using an ad blocker in your browser, you may consider making The Weather Network an exception to allow content such as radar to show. You can find this functionality in your ad blocker’s settings.
Commenting+-
Appropriate Comments
We’re trying to make theweathernetwork.com more dynamic than ever, and always love user participation. Several sections of the site welcome user comments, but we do need to keep some things in mind to ensure comments entertain, inform, question and motivate.
Please remember:
• Comments should stay focused on the subject. Off-topic postings may be deleted.
• Be polite.
• Avoid making negative comments about or toward a specific person.
• You may provide links to other areas of TheWeatherNetwork.com. As for external web addresses, we allow one per post, as text only, not as a hyperlink.
• One account per participant, please.
Please do not post:
• Lengthy quotes or excerpts - we want to hear your own opinion.
• Press releases and/or advertising.
• Personal contact information, including e-mail addresses, phone numbers and street addresses.
• Duplicate or repetitive comments.
• Argumentative remarks. Our commenting platform should be welcoming to all participants.
• Racist, sexist or otherwise offensive language.
• Personal attacks and defamatory statements.
• Copyright infringement (copying from other sources and websites without permission and attribution).
• Violations of someone’s privacy.
• Threats or the suggestion of committing a criminal act.
• Insensitive comments regarding the death or injury of people or animals.
• Messages in all CAPS (this makes it difficult to read and is commonly seen as yelling in a digital format).
Violating the above guidelines will result in the removal of your comment, and possibly the banning of your account.
Please remember:
• Comments should stay focused on the subject. Off-topic postings may be deleted.
• Be polite.
• Avoid making negative comments about or toward a specific person.
• You may provide links to other areas of TheWeatherNetwork.com. As for external web addresses, we allow one per post, as text only, not as a hyperlink.
• One account per participant, please.
Please do not post:
• Lengthy quotes or excerpts - we want to hear your own opinion.
• Press releases and/or advertising.
• Personal contact information, including e-mail addresses, phone numbers and street addresses.
• Duplicate or repetitive comments.
• Argumentative remarks. Our commenting platform should be welcoming to all participants.
• Racist, sexist or otherwise offensive language.
• Personal attacks and defamatory statements.
• Copyright infringement (copying from other sources and websites without permission and attribution).
• Violations of someone’s privacy.
• Threats or the suggestion of committing a criminal act.
• Insensitive comments regarding the death or injury of people or animals.
• Messages in all CAPS (this makes it difficult to read and is commonly seen as yelling in a digital format).
Violating the above guidelines will result in the removal of your comment, and possibly the banning of your account.
How do I comment?
In order to comment, you have to login with either you Weather Network account, or your Facebook account – whichever you prefer.
Can I include personal information in comments?
Your display name, which links to your profile, will appear with your comment, and we may use your real name and city from your profile if we use your submission in our news coverage. However, contact information should not be part of your postings. In order to maintain your privacy, please do not share e-mail addresses, phone numbers or mailing addresses.
How are comments moderated?
Comments are activated automatically and are reviewed after being posted. Inappropriate words included in comments will be automatically replaced before the comment is posted.
Any comment may be removed if our guidelines are not followed. Please note that The Weather Network may decide to remove a comment that is deemed inappropriate – for any reason, at any time.
Any comment may be removed if our guidelines are not followed. Please note that The Weather Network may decide to remove a comment that is deemed inappropriate – for any reason, at any time.
What if I see a comment I don't like?
If you disagree with a posting, that is your opportunity to respond with your own comment. If you feel a comment has violated any of our guidelines, click on the "Report abuse" link found at the bottom of the comment, and we will investigate.
For more information, visit our Terms of Use page. These guidelines may be updated at any time.
For more information, visit our Terms of Use page. These guidelines may be updated at any time.
Photos and Videos:+-
How do I contribute a photo or video?
To contribute your own image, visit our Photos & Videos page and click on the orange "Upload" button near the top. On the "Login or Create an Account" page, enter your Email/Login and Password. If you have not contributed a photo or video before, you will need to create an account. Fill in the required fields and click "Create Your Account". After successfully logging in, fill in the form fields to describe your photo or video. Be sure to check the file format with the list of supported formats on the right side of this page. Click "Upload Now!".
How do I edit or delete photos from my account?
Once a photo or video has been uploaded, it unfortunately cannot be edited or deleted by the user. If you want one of your photos or videos removed from our system, use the Contact Us page to make a request. Please provide your Email/Login, the name of the photo or video and the date it was uploaded.
How do I report a spelling or grammar error?
While we take time to edit and proof our news stories, our writers do not edit the photos or videos submitted to the Photos & Videos section for spelling or grammar mistakes.
I can’t find my uploaded photos or videos. Is something wrong?
Uploaded photos and videos can take up to 24 hours to be reviewed and approved by our moderators. After 24 hours, try uploading the photos or videos again. If they do not display in the "My Uploads" section, please let us know using the Contact Us form.